A CONTRAST BETWEEN STATEMENT EXCERPTS FROM TWO DIFFERENT PRESIDENTS ON THE CAPTURE OF AN ENEMY
George W. Bush speech after capture of Saddam:
The success of yesterday’s mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq .
The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the
dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by
a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many
dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and
freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the
nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate ’em.
Barack Obama speech after killing of bin Laden:
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the
killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued
our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.
Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on
a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread
to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information
about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of
Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and
I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction,
the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad , Pakistan.
